[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35630-35631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16810]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 062599C]


Collections of Information for Individual Fishing Quotas for 
Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC 20230 (or via 
Internet at LE[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to James Hale, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This document requests comments on a number of collections-of- 
information requirements for the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program 
for fixed gear Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska. The 
requirements described below have been in place without having obtained 
the necessary OMB approval, which will now be requested.
    Request for Quota Share Application - Prior to the end of the 
application period to apply for IFQ Quota Shares(QS), the Application 
for QS was used to assess eligibility to receive QS. That application 
period ended on July 15, 1994. Applications for QS submitted after that 
date are categorically denied. An applicant denied for untimely 
submission of an application for QS may, however, file an appeal of 
that administrative decision. Hence, at this point in time, RAM 
facilitates such appeals by substituting the Request for Application 
for QS in place of the more extensive Application for QS itself. RAM 
determined that for purposes of categorically denying claims for QS the 
lengthy QS application is no longer necessary. The categorical denial 
then allows the applicant to enter the appeals process.
    Vessel Clearance and Departure Reports - A vessel operator who 
intends to make an IFQ landing at a location other than in an IFQ 
regulatory area or in the State of Alaska must obtain pre-landing 
written clearance of the vessel from a clearing officer. If the pre-
landing vessel clearance is to be obtained in Washington or another 
non-Alaska state, a departure report must be provided to NMFS 
Enforcement prior to departing the waters of the EEZ adjacent to the 
jurisdictional waters of the State of Alaska, the territorial sea of 
the State of Alaska, or the internal waters of the State of Alaska. 
Although these reports are currently cleared under OMB Control Number 
0648-0272, some of the data elements in the reports were not

[[Page 35631]]

described in the related clearance request. Data elements for which 
authorization is being requested are: vessel home port, vessel ADF&G 
number, vessel official number, Federal fisheries permit number, 
International Pacific Halibut Commission number, halibut and sablefish 
weight, name of each IFQ cardholder onboard, registered buyer name and 
number, time of landing, location of clearance, registered buyer 
signature and date signed.
    Dockside Sales Receipt - A person holding a valid IFQ permit, IFQ 
card, and registered buyer permit may conduct a dockside sale of IFQ 
halibut or IFQ sablefish to a person who has not been issued a 
registered buyer permit but must issue a dockside sales receipt in lieu 
of a shipment report.
    The purpose of reporting the amount of IFQ fish involved in a 
dockside sale is to provide NMFS Enforcement with the ability to 
monitor and inspect the shipment of IFQ fish to determine whether there 
was proper accounting for all IFQ fish landed.
    Request for Transaction Terminal - All IFQ landings must be 
reported electronically, using IFQ landing cards and transaction 
terminals activated with custom-designed computer software. Transaction 
terminals may be purchased directly from the supplier and sent to NMFS 
for installation of the custom software that makes a transaction 
terminal functional. Transaction terminals may also be requested from 
NMFS, but remain the property of the U.S. Government. This request form 
is used to request that a transaction terminal be supplied by NMFS. 
Since the number of terminals available from NMFS may not be sufficient 
to meet all requests, NMFS requests the address or location of expected 
activity so that a single terminal may be supplied to appropriate 
public places, such as Harbormaster offices, to meet the needs of 
numerous applicants in the same location.
    Transshipment Authorization - No person may transship processed IFQ 
halibut or IFQ sablefish between vessels without authorization from a 
clearing officer and unless operating as a registered buyer. 
Authorization must be obtained for each instance of transshipment at 
least 24 hours before the transshipment is intended to commence and the 
transshipment must occur at a place specified by a NMFS Clearing 
Officer. The advance notice and restriction to a primary port affords 
NMFS the opportunity to inspect the fish. Transshipment authorization 
may be obtained through telephone, FAX, or other voice communications.
    Existing data elements without clearance are: date and location of 
transshipment; vessel names and ADF&G numbers; product destination; 
registered buyer's name and number; species; regulatory areas fished; 
product type and code; number of units; unit and product weights; 
request date and time; and requester's name, phone, and fax.
    IFQ/CDQ Shipment Report - Each registered buyer, other than those 
conducting dockside sales, must complete a written shipment report for 
each shipment or transfer of IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish from that 
registered buyer before the fish leave the landing site and assure that 
a copy of the shipment report or a bill of lading containing the same 
information as a shipment report accompanies the shipment of IFQ 
species from the landing site to the first destination beyond the 
location of the IFQ landing. Existing data elements without clearance 
are: whether the report is original or revised; signature of registered 
buyer's representative; and unit product weight.
    IFQ Administrative Waiver - This form is used by NMFS/Enforcement 
to document the request for and the granting of waivers for either of 
several requirements: the Six-hour Prior of Notice of Landing, the 12-
hour IFQ Landing Window, the Electronic Landing Report requirement, the 
IFQ cardholder onboard requirement, or the requirement that vessel 
clearance be obtained at a primary port.

II. Method of Collection

    Most information is submitted by telephone or letter. Receipts must 
be issued for dockside sales receipts. A form is used to submit 
shipping reports and requesting waivers .

III. Data

     OMB Number: 0648-0272
     Form Number: None
     Type of Review: Regular submission
     Affected public: Individuals, businesses and other for-profit
     Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,700 (unchanged from currently 
approved figure)
     Estimated Time Per Response: 30 minutes for an Application for 
Quota Share, 6 additional minutes for the uncleared elements of the 
Vessel Clearance and Departure Report, 6 minutes for a Dockside Sale 
Receipt, 30 minutes for a Request for a Transaction Terminal, 6 
additional minutes for the uncleared elements of the Transshipment 
Authorization, 6 additional minutes for the uncleared elements of the 
Shipment Report, and 6 minutes for the Administrative Waiver.
     Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,505 (this represents the 
hours to be added to the 0648-0272 clearance, whose total would then be 
22,275 hours)
     Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $175 additional costs for 
the requirements being submitted, mostly for postage (many requirements 
involve the use of toll-free phone calls). The total costs for 0648-
0272 requirements would then be $90,996.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;  
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and /or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 24, 1999.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-16810 Filed 6-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F